Dragons
Dragons are homeothermic creatures, also known as warm-blooded, they control their temperatures internally. This allows them to adapt to their different habitat climates, they are in no way dependent to the warmth of the sun like other reptiles. Describing them as fierce and bloodthirsty is part of folklore and legends that many have manipulated incorrectly and misjudged over the years to prove the need of knights and dragon slayers. In contrary, that's only part of their defense mechanisms when under attack again it varies from dragon specie to another. Some regions of the world look at them as friendly creatures. Only the milder types of Dragons are easier to train. It takes lots of courage to try and train the more ferocious ones, you must love it to be able to withhold lots of patience, tact and injuries. Round pupil eyes do focus at all times, meaning they can see an object extremely clearly whether it is close or very far away. Exceedingly far distance, by zooming in. While vertical slits, much more convenient than horizontal slits, are able to control the amount of sunlight entering the eye. Dragons unlike other vertebrates, are able to intake five times more light than human eyes, in other words are able to precept light much better than humans. Well-known bred Dragons *Antipodean Opaleye *Chinese Fireball (Known as "Lion Dragon") *Common Welsh Green (A native dragon of Great Britain) *Hebridean Black (The other native dragon of Great Britain) *Hungarian Horntail (Considered to be the most dangerous dragon ever) *Norwegian Ridgeback *Peruvian Vipertooth (A highly venomous dragon) *Romanian Longhorn *Swedish Short-Snout *Ukrainian Ironbelly (The largest dragon species ever recorded) *Catalonian Fireball *Portuguese Long-Snout Dragons take a good two years to mature. They don't fly until they're almost a full year old and they don't start breathing fire until they're about six months old. Norwegian Ridgebacks however, can snort flames at only a month old. A Romanian Longhorn and a Swedish Short-Snout mixed dragon would be what experts call a Portuguese Long-Snout. Dragon mothers breathe fire on their eggs to keep them warm. An alternative is having the dragon egg suspended over a heated cauldron. Baby dragons are required to be fed a bottle of brandy mixed with chicken blood in a bucket every half hour. Internal Organs #brain #spinal cord #Jacobson's organ #hydrocarbon storage vessicle #nasal passage #trachea #oesophagus #heart #fore air sac #lung #aft air sac #diaphragm #liver #gall bladder #stomach #spleen #bladder #urethra #uterus #female part #anus #ovary #fallopian tube #rectum #appendix #small intestine #large intestine #ureter #kidney #pancreas The diagram was drafted by Professor Kobus Hendrik in Term 7. Notice the air sacs that aid making the creature lighter for flight are visible to the front and back of the lungs and are large and well developed. These air sacs do not aid in fire-breathing; rather, the Jacobson's organ is primarily concerned with fire creation. It is important to understand that the membrane of the wing does not attache close to the shoulder as certain biologically erroneous drawings can sometimes show but near the bottom of the back of the dragon close to the thighs. This is very important; if the wings would be connected at the top of the back, the dragon would fly but it would have a vertical position (head up, posterior & tail down) that would be a disadvantage for the dragon's speed and maneuvrability. When the wings are connected at the bottom of the back, the dragon can have a horizontal position, and the head and the tail can be used as rudder and allow a better maneuvrability. This also allows a greater surface for the wings. Wing Detail There are three membranes that make up the dragon's wing: the primary mainsail, the secondary mainsail, and the spar mainsail. The primary mainsail stretches from the dorsal spine and shoulder, stretching to the inner bone and forms that largest of the three membranes that comprises the wing. It is this membrane that supports the majority of the body weight. The secondary mainsail extends from the inner bone to the mid bone, whilst the third mainsail, the spar mainsail, runs from the mid bone to the spar bone. As well as providing support of the body's weight, these latter two mainsails provide manoeuvrability. The membranes can be manipulated by the tendons attached to the various joints, to provide movement in both the horizontal and vertical planes. The outermost tip of the spar mainsail is termed the 'finger sail' since it is able to function almost independently of all the other mainsails. The wing membranes are nearly translucent in Dragons, although thicker over the bones and muscle attachment points. However, they are significantly stronger than they appear. Additional support of the primary mainsail is provided by a number of cartilages which extend from the arm and finger joint towards the trailing edge and referred to as 'batten ribs'. Consistently used Dragon parts *Dung – Used as a fertiliser *Eggs – Non tradable class A but then Chinese fireballs eggs are used and highly prized in potions as an ingredient *Heartstring – Used in wand cores *Bladder – Used in an ancient game of Stichstock *Blood – Twelve uses of Dragons blood discovered by Albus Dumbledore, twelfth use is as an oven cleaner *Hide – Used to make wizarding clothing, Swedish short snout is particularly sought out. Used for protective wear too *Horn – Powdered – tradable substance class b *Liver – Food References Lesson 1; CoMC Lesson 1/ CoMC Lesson 2 - Term 7 CoMC #3 - Term 15 CoMC: Lesson 2 - Term 17 CoMC Lesson 3: Preparation / Dragons / In the Forest - Term 21 CoMC Lessons 1 / 2 / 3 - Term 31 Category:Magical creatures Category:Care of Magical Creatures Category:Term 7 Category:Term 15 Category:Term 17 Category:Term 21 Category:Term 31